Two Arrested in Connection with 13 Burglaries

Brooks Co., GA - The only jewelry Amy Taylor has left is on her hands right now.

"It just gives you a real uneasy feeling. You feel a little violated," said Taylor.

Taylor is just one victim of a South Georgia crime duo now behind bars in Brooks County Jail.

"They took every piece of gold and silver jewelry that I've had since I started getting jewelry," Taylor said.

"At random they would do daytime burglaries after people had gone to work," said Brooks County Sheriff Mike Dewey. "If they didn't see any vehicles they would pull around to the back of the house, go in and get what they wanted."

Brooks County Sheriff Mike Dewey says Stephen Lenz and Melody Pollard are accused of breaking into 19 homes in the past three months. They are each being held on at least $50,000 bond.

They stole TVs, guns and anything else of value they could get their hands on. Sheriff Dewey says they likely sold them for drugs.

Some of those homes were also in Lowndes, Cook and Echols Counties. And victims like Taylor know they will probably never see their belongings again.

"A lot of pieces of jewelry had sentimental value that you can't replace," said Taylor.

The duo was caught in a joint operation between the Brooks and Lowndes County Sheriffs Departments.

Lowndes County Sheriff's Office Release

Sheriff Chris Prine has released the following:

Investigators from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office have recently been working with investigators from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office on a number of residential burglaries. This joint investigation led to the identification and arrest of Stephen Lenz and Melody Pollard on November 27, 2012. Stephen Lenz was arrested after exiting a vehicle and fleeing on foot from Lowndes County deputies. At the time of his arrest, Stephen Lenz had a small quantity of cocaine in his possession.

Following his arrest, investigators recovered items of property that were taken in recent burglaries. Investigators met with Stephen Lenz and Melody Pollard and identified two locations where property taken during the burglaries had been sold. These locations were searched and items from the Lowndes County and Brooks County burglaries were recovered. As a result of this investigation Stephen Lenz and Melody Pollard were connected to thirteen {13} different residential burglaries or burglary attempts in Lowndes County alone. The pair has also confessed to additional burglaries in Cook, Echols and Lanier Counties.

Both Stephen Lenz and Melody Pollard remain in the Brooks County Jail on the charges in that county. Arrest warrants for Burglary in the first degree have been issued and the pair will be brought to Lowndes County in the near future.

Additional arrests are possible as this investigation moves forward. Sheriff Prine asked that anyone with information related to these arrest contact the Sheriff’s Office at {229} 671-2950.

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